HISTORY

10 Middle Children Who Really Stood Out

Celebrate National Middle Child Day with these remarkable middles.

7 Words That Mean The Opposite Of What They Used To

While 'awesome' was going on its journey from bad to good, 'awful' was going in the opposite direction.

John Cooke via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

DNA Shows Infamous ‘Piltdown Man’ Hoax Was Two Parts Human, One Part Ape

But who was behind the hoax?

Study: The First Americans Didn't Arrive by the Bering Land Bridge

For much of the 20th century, scientists believed that the first settlers of the Americas could only have arrived one way.

Michael Jordan Pledges $5 Million to New African-American History Museum

To honor the basketball star's contribution, a section of the museum's Sports Gallery will now be named “The Michael Jordan Hall: Game Changers.”

7 Strange Tales From the Wild West

Every time period has its strange stories, and the Wild West is no different—whether it's outlaw corpses or feral camel ghosts.

The Serial Killer Who Inspired Three Classic Horror Movies

Serial killer Ed Gein was the basis for the villains in three of the horror genre's scariest movies: Psycho (1960), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), and The Silence of the Lambs (1991).

8 Bizarre Facts About Hieronymous Bosch

The Dutch painter died 500 years ago.

Trebitsch Lincoln, the Nazis' Would-Be Supernatural Weapon

The "Olympian of Scoundrelism” told the Nazis he had the occult secrets required to rule the world.

Sarah&Boston via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0

340-Year-Old Cheese Recovered From Swedish Shipwreck

The stench was likened to an extra-pungent Roquefort.

The Lucky City That Escaped Nagasaki’s A-Bomb

Kokura was the original target, but avoiding devastation may have been more than just random luck.

U.S. Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain

Matthew Henson, the Arctic Explorer Who Stood on Top of the World

Remembering the man who probably beat Robert Peary to the North Pole, but didn’t get the credit he deserved until years later.

The Riot Caused By A Performance of Macbeth

Terrible occurrences have dogged performances of the Shakespeare play ever since its premiere.

On This Date in 1997, Microsoft Invested in Apple

"We have to let go of the notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft needs to lose." -Steve Jobs, 19 years ago

Travel Back in Time With Vintage U.S. Vacation Destination Photographs

"Wish you were here" isn't a new sentiment.

The Conflicting Stories Behind The Invention of Rocky Road Ice Cream

Many brands have laid claim to the origin of Rocky Road, but a Kansan cookbook might disprove them all.

Before He Became President, Abraham Lincoln Was a Wrestling Champion

In the years before he became a politician, Abraham Lincoln was one of the most feared wrestlers in Illinois.

Ray Moreton/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Grizzly Bear Who Met Margaret Thatcher, Appeared in a Bond Movie, and Fled to Scotland for 24 Days

His name, perhaps unsurprisingly, was Hercules.

Scholars Have Been Working on a Dictionary of Old English For 46 Years

The University of Toronto-based project aims to define every English word used between 600 CE and 1150.

The Time the U.S. Tried to Buy Greenland

Had a Cold War sales pitch worked out differently, Greenland just might have become an American territory.

How a 1928 Silent Film Influenced the Creation of the Joker

The creation of the Clown Prince of Crime can be traced back to an adaptation of Victor Hugo's 'The Man Who Laughs.'

Honymand via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 4.0

Some Woolly Mammoths Survived Until Just 5600 Years Ago

A new study finds that mammoths were roaming Alaska’s St. Paul Island as recently as 5600 years ago, but even then their days were numbered.

Jim Thorpe // Image courtesy of Agence Rol, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

7 Athletes Who Had Their Olympic Medals Revoked

While winning a medal is the ultimate goal of any athlete competing during the Olympic Games, sometimes their victories are short-lived.

Portrait by Jacques-Antoine-Marie Lemoine via Wikimedia // Public Domain

10 Travel Tips From the Age of Napoleon

Bring a good pair of shoes, and don't be afraid to rent a bathtub.

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